Grade II Listed Tithe Barn

[reubenpeckham]

Don't know if anyone can help.

I have spotted a Grade II listed tithe barn for sale, which has planning consent to convert to an office, building a mezzanine deck. Total footprint area is approximately 1250 sq ft.

It's in a bad state of repairs and I'm trying to quantify the costs of renovations before making an offer. Issues I have are underpinning (although there doesn't appear to be any structural movement of the main building), damp-proofing (alot required)- rot/ infestation, roosting Bats (no obvious evidence- but needs quantifying)- roof (huge area and totally knackered)- upgrading thermal performance of the building to current standards etc.

Does anyone know of a surveyor who specialises in these types of buildings that they could recommend? I need someone who can list all the faults and then provide an approximate quantification of putting them right. Many thanks.

Reuben Peckham

reuben@24acoustics.co.uk

 

[Stephen]

There are several Chartered Building Surveyors who contribute to this site (I and JohnEds are but two) who could probably undertake the work you describe, but we would need to know where in the country you are?

A couple of matters from your post.

Underpinning - if there is no evidence of movement why do you think it would need underpinning?

Dampness - just because there is damp do not assume that you will have to put in expensive and perhaps inappropriate treatments.

Rot/infestation - is it active - if not why spend money unnecessarily?

Bats - look at http://www.bats.org.uk for information and local contacts to help assessment. If you have bats you will have to work around them.

Roof - would need proper assessment, as would structure generally.

Insulation - many different ways possible.

Energy efficiency - a barn can be very successfully converted to high levels of energy efficiency and if you are interested in alternative energy it may be possible to include quite successfully. We did a barn conversion a year or so ago with alternative energy, high insulation levels, etc and it has worked very well.

Current Building Standards - this is an old building and will never 'comply' with modern standars in some respects. However, with care and perhaps some lateral thinking such buildings can often be brought very close and somtimes exceed modern standards. It really depends which standard you are thinking of! Also remember that the 'Approved Documents' are not the only way to comply with Building Regulations. If your Building Isnpector lacks imagination ask for another or find an independent approved inspector.

Hope these pointers help.

Stephen

 

[reubenpeckham]

Many thanks.

These are comments that I've received from an architect who has seen pictures- I'm not sure that underpinning would be required.

In terms of location- Hampshire, near Winchester. Be grateful for any assistance possible. Thankyou.

 

[Nemesis]

Can I suggest, knowing your location, that you contact Huw Thomas an architect in Winchester who specialises and has a great deal of expertise in listed barn conversion?

He may be able to help with a more sensitive assessment of what is required !

 

[skier-hughes]

The only thing I have experence of is checking for bats.
English Nateure will arrange for a volunteer bat expert to come out and check for bats. He will then get EN to send out a report to you telling you what you can/can't do and how to best work around any bats if present.
There is no charge for this, but expect to wait for the volunteer to get to you, so get dealing with this now. Bats are protected and as mentioned you have to work around and with them.

Graham

 

[Jon Maine]

All very sensible comments made already, Is the listed building consent in place and still valid? Are there any specifications, drawings or schedules of work in existence?These will help you get a clearer idea of costs.
I would suggest perhaps for an initial budget somewhere up to the region of £800 to £1600 a square metre of footprint of each floor would be a rule of thumb for a building of this nature should you be letting all of the work out but if you are capable of doing some of the work with friends and family you could save a lot too.
You could try getting a few names of conservation builders from the local authority which could well help you arrive at some initial ideas of what you could be letting yourself into.
Good luck.